


Starbright

by sciophyte



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, league of legends inspired, semi-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7519991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciophyte/pseuds/sciophyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a moment, Eita is torn between amusement and envy. Amusement, because that was and is what Tendou has always done, using his uncanny powers of precognition for these jokes. Envy, because he misses using his own powers, misses the rush of enhanced power through his fingertips as he battled the enemy champions alongside Ushijima.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starfall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thehazelverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehazelverse/gifts).



> For the Haikyuu!! Summer Holidays Exchange 2016! I split it into two parts, because I had a hard time resolving the plot-line halfway through and with my mid-year exams and all.. I was worried I'd forget to finish it. This is for thehazelverse ^^ Lately I've been sucked into the madness that is the League of Legends, so I thought about adapting that setting for a Haikyuu!! fic, but you don't need to play or know anything about the universe to understand the setting! I'm sorry I'm not that great at writing fluff and relationships in general, so it turns out to be more like Tensemi angst with a happy ending, (and from Semi's POV because Tendou's head is hard to get into) but I really hope you like it!

Semi Eita walks through Shiratorizawa's back end, making his way through the dim alleys. Most of the city state is brightly lit and open, market streets home to the best and latest goods Miyagi has to offer, and with walkways safe and clean. Though today, Eita knows these streets will be packed with Shiratorizawa's community, all watching the latest arena match between Shiratorizawa and some other city-state. Perhaps once upon a time he would have cared, but not anymore. Eita has no wish to be seen by the rest of Shiratorizawa, at least not today. The rest had kept the matter quiet, and explaining to a street passerby would just be giving it undue attention. Eita glances at the dark sky - Shiratorizawa should have already found out, hopefully not much would be said. 

 

Eita is turning the corner towards his apartment block when a thread of red weaves its way across his vision, expanding into a crimson sheet. It lights up the alley, casting a neon glow on the sewer plates. _It couldn't be_ , Eita thinks, eyes stunned by the sudden change in lighting, _this is too fast, even for him_. Then, a hand appears on his right, latching onto his arm and dragging him in the opposite direction.

 

"Did you miss me?" its owner sing-songs loudly, "I thought Eita-kun might want some company~!"

 

Eita sighs, but it is done in vain, and feels a sudden gratefulness for his friend. If not for his appearance, Eita's thoughts might have been lurching around all evening, morphing into anger and goodness knows what else. Behind him, the neon reddish glow fades, leaving Tendou's hair the only shock of bright red remaining in the alley. 

 

"Shouldn't you still be at the Academy?" Eita asks, puzzled.

 

"Guess what.. I'm not!" Tendou sidesteps the question neatly. "I brought your favourite, by the way, you should be thanking me, not questioning me."

 

Tendou holds out a plastic bag. Eita makes a grab for it, almost childishly, and Tendou pulls it away from his reach. For a moment, Eita is torn between amusement and envy. Amusement, because that was and is what Tendou has always done, using his uncanny powers of precognition for these jokes. Envy, because he misses using his own powers, misses the rush of enhanced power through his fingertips as he battled the enemy champions alongside Ushijima. A little on impulse, he'd sworn he would stop using them since that day the line-up was announced and Eita wasn't on it. He wasn't going to go back on that promise now, that would just make him look weak. 

 

Tendou dangles the bag above and in front of Eita, bouncing on his heels as he starts walking (no, skipping) backwards, along the alley. Eita sighs, but follows. "You know, I'm not you, so it would be nice to actually tell me where we're headed to?"

 

Laughing, Tendou beckons Eita closer. Eita moves forward uncertainly, and at that instant Tendou dodges to his right and drops his voice to a whisper. "You'll find out when we get there." He dodges Eita's instinctive scowl and fake punch and skips forward. 

 

"You cheat!" Eita retorts in jest. It's just their usual banter, and nothing's different. Nothing, except that Eita's no longer on Shiratorizawa's champion line-up. 

 

* * *

 

"And Wakatoshi makes another stunning kill! Our Miracle Boy certainly is outperforming himself in this match, Shiratorizawa's captain really left Seijou's Iwaizumi Hajime with no exit route this time. Even Oikawa Tooru's perfectly timed shields are no match for Wakatoshi's sheer power."

 

"My goodness, did you see that power spike when their new support cast that disguised empowerment spell? I said Wakatoshi's left strike was at his peak the last match, but it appears I'm eating my words. Well, with the Impassive doing a better job at sealing up the middle lane, Cupid and Lionheart's positioning improving and the Guess Monster making perfect ganks as usual ("How does he do it? The Silent Dragon was no match for the Guess Monster"), it looks like the Pale Artist is going to fit right int-"

 

"Eita-chan, you wound me. I asked you a question and you ignored me entirely!" Tendou's voice, a few octaves higher, finds its way into Eita's consciousness. He's sticking out his lower lip petulantly. Eita would find it mildly adorable, if he still was looking. As it is however, Eita is staring into the distance, replaying the last line he heard from the droning TV screen at the other end of the room. "Pale Artist...fit right in..."

 

Tendou's face suddenly cuts into Eita's line of vision, as he waves a piece of tuna sushi in between the both of them. "You took a bite of your favourite tekka maki and then you stopped eating! And, all that while I was telling you a really interesting story about the latest Shounen Jump edition, you know, I had a cameo in it!"

 

Eita blinks. "Huh?" And as he tries to retort with something that will throw off Tendou, Tendou jams the tuna sushi in his mouth. 

 

"Ooh, now you can't tell me to shut up! Let me ask you the question again, do you think I look better in the manga drawing? I thought the artist really captured my spikes, all red and um well, spiky, they were so cool-looking." Tendou's eyes dart to his phone on the table, and just as quickly, flit back to Eita imploringly. For some reason, Tendou is stalling. He's doing a good job of hiding it under his usual non-stop mouthiness, but Eita can sense it, given how long he's known him. Since they walked into the cafe (and how did Tendou even find a cafe that is open at this sort of hour, Eita will never know.) and Tendou dragged him towards the corner table, Eita threw out his plans of getting home and having an early rest (and trying to forget about Shiratorizawa's champion line-up).  

 

Tendou Satori, destroying Semi Eita's plans since 2013. 

 

"You looked the same as always, Tendou-" Eita says, swallowing his mouthful of tuna.

 

"Ah ha! I knew you saw it, for all you say that you don't read Shounen Jump!" Tendou looks triumphant, and what was Eita supposed to reply? That he had picked it up because Tendou was on the front cover and it caught his eye? That it was because it was one of the few magazines in the Shiratorizawa district that didn't feature Ushijima? That it was because of Tendou?

 

Fortunately (or unfortunately for him, Semi ruefully thinks later on), the chimes on the cafe door ring and three figures step in, making a beeline for the table. Semi turns to see who's entered, and tries to escape immediately. _Why in the world are they here?_  


"Nuh-uh, don't react like this, Eita-chan!! Please, just hear us out. " It's the first time Eita's heard Tendou's voice even close to pleading, but at that moment he's just shocked and maybe a little betrayed, and the roaring in his head is getting louder. Eita pushes back his chair, turns on his heel and dashes past Ushijima, Yamagata, and Oohira. 

 

"Wow. Semi's still got quite the speed in him." Ushijima says, blinking. "Why did he go? I thought we were going to have-"

 

Ushijima's cut short by Tendou grabbing the fancy plastic bag from his hands and teleporting straight behind him.  

 

Yamagata and Oohira heave a collective sigh. "Well, can't say that was unexpected. I told Tendou it probably wasn't a good day for it, but he said there was no other time that we wouldn't be busy...Reon, maybe you should go after them, Semi shouldn't have gotten too far from here." Yamagata says. 

 

"I think...better not. He can sense the sonar blast and that would probably make him angrier, if anything." Oohira counters, ever the picture of calm, even if his eyes are slightly crinkled in worry. 

 

* * *

 

Indeed, Eita hadn't gone too far. After rushing out of the cafe, he'd deliberated between the direction to turn. Impulsively, he chose the left one, remembering it was the way Tendou and him had come from. Upon reaching the end of the street, he'd continued running down the side alleys, making turns here and there whenever he spotted a familiar location in the distance, the initial impulsive anger fading away as he ran. Now that he saw his apartment block up ahead, Semi slowed his run to a jog. Even though he hadn't been training for a while, the speed he'd built up over the previous years hadn't been lost so quickly. He found that he missed the thrum of the world flowing past him as he ran, missed the way his muscles sang with each stride, missed the wind rushing through his hair. 

 

He half expected Tendou to come charging out of the surroundings. After all, he was quite sure that was how Tendou had found him; reaching slightly into the future to grasp at the various possibilities, then making use of those insane teleportation skills of his to divine Eita's location. (Eita ruefully conjures the memory of one summer training session, Tendou disappearing and reappearing fifty meters in the air above, just a red speck in the distance, free-falling and blinking out of existence. But in the next instant, Tendou was beside Eita again, announcing to the team that Ushijima was three streets away and wasn't likely to slow down any time soon.) 

 

Eita wasn't sure how he would react if Tendou did that to him. However, Eita was certain that Tendou wouldn't betray his trust like that. He'd never once seen Tendou use his powers outside of the arena for anything other than good, bar the few occasions of mischief and frivolity. They'd often joke that Tendou was the incarnation of chaos, yet it was Eita who lost his temper at Ushijima, at Shirabu, at everyone, the day he'd realised that he would likely never be in the main line-up again. Eita's pride always got in the way, and it was Tendou who would break the cloud of rage with well-timed jest and banter. That, and a bony, crushingly warm hug.

 

But now, Tendou probably figured Eita was upset with him, and what Tendou's response would be, Eita had absolutely no idea. It was an abrupt realisation, but a shocking one still - that Tendou had always been watching out for Eita, even as he masked it behind his blend of loud japes and extreme movements. Eita gets further proof when he reaches his apartment door, and the signs that Tendou has been there are evident. 

 

He sighs and steps into his apartment, grabbing the bag on the door handle as he enters. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he sinks on the floor. Behind him, the clinical voice of the voicemail beeps, "Welcome back, Semi-san! You have one new message!" There is a buzz of static, and Tendou's voice sounds desperate, uncontrolled, raw and frantic in his plea. "I don't think you want to see me right now, and I promise, I really didn't want you to get..." There's a pause, as if Tendou is uncharacteristically choosing his next words, ".. to leave, and I hope you'll feel better and basically, all that we wanted to show you is in the bag and...we all really want you back in the team...you'll still be in matches and all...I've asked Coach Washijou.... I'm sorry, Eita. Please, please, come back.." A beep, and then silence. Eita would have been incensed had this been anyone else, and his temper flared again, hearing the word "team", but it was overwhelmed by a sudden rush of sadness. Tendou had never spoken like this before. 

 

Eita reaches into the bag wearily and runs his hands over the fabric. It was exactly as he remembered it, the smooth sheen of bright purple, black and white signifying his allegiance to Shiratorizawa, with enhancements to channel his powers exactly where he wanted to aim them at. Eita isn't even sure when he started crying, but the tears streak down his face in ugly, crooked lines. He realises he misses Tendou, misses the flashy plays he used to enable, misses the team. 

 

It is a cruel form of cosmic irony, then, when the bag starts buzzing and Eita reaches inside it, pulling out a smartphone with a bow and arrow motif on its case and '14' emblazoned over it. On the screen, the words "Benkei (Reon)" flash across the caller ID. Somehow, Yamagata has managed to leave his phone in a bag that was meant for Eita, of all places. Eita stands up, leaves the bag and the buzzing phone on the floor and heads towards his room. He tells himself that he'll sleep over it and make a trip to the Academy tomorrow, insisting to himself that it's just to return Yamagata his phone, and he'll be out of there before anyone notices him. 


	2. Starshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for updating this after an eternity, and I apologise for the wait.

A copper haired boy with bangs aims his hand at a corner of the circuit. After a flash of white light emerges, he is nothing more than a disturbance, akin to a heat wave blurring the air. At his intended destination, the light bends around another, taller, individual, who appears to be focused on a target in the distance. Despite seemingly not moving, the ground shatters at his feet. Fault lines spiral across the floor in the direction of the target, knocking aside objects in the way.

While this happens, a fiery beam engulfs the light. Yet, this lasts for no longer than an instant. The beam disappears just as quickly as it appears. The white light continues pulsing around the tall, broad shouldered boy, and disappears just as the beam's creator makes himself visible again. 

"Tendou, you're not attacking properly. Even if Shirabu was on the other end of the field, I would have had no problem continuing my attack." Ushijima states, frank. 

Tendou stares down at his hands. Shirabu watches him, face carefully blank. The rest of the team turn around from their various training spots in the circuit. It is not like Tendou to remain silent, nor is it like him to withhold his attacking power. Oohira has a sympathetic, concerned look on his face. Yamagata is more curious than anything, judging from the way he's already taken a step forward, but he knows when to withdraw, and is clearly containing his curiosity. Kawanishi shrugs his shoulders at Shirabu, as if to say, what's up? The rest of him looks impassively neutral, as always. 

Shirabu arches an eyebrow in reply. Oohira claps his hands, attempting to diffuse the block of tension that had settled over the room. It was particularly difficult since the person usually in charge of resolving these situations happened to be its cause. "Maybe everyone's tired. Ushijima, how about we take a 5-minute break?" Ushijima gives a brief nod. The team starts to move from their various positions over to the door, where the benches with their water bottles were.  

"Wait, isn't that my phone in the box with all our fan mail?" Yamagata exclaims. Being a hugely popular team, the champions of Shiratorizawa have a mail slot where their fans can drop in letters and other presents for them. Normally, people use it to thank the champions for exciting matches, but it's a convenient option for Eita. Yamagata rushes over and plucks his phone out of the box, examining it for damage. "Luckily, I think no one hacked it?" 

At that very same moment, Eita ducks out of sight and rushes in the other direction. He un-clenches his jaw, flexes a few times for good measure. Shirabu was indeed improving, and shockingly good at his role. In his haste to get away, he accidentally collides into something, or as it turns out, someone. 

That someone huffs a grunt of surprise. "Semi! What are you doing here?" Eita takes a step back and frowns at the light floppy hair and dark eyebrows of the individual before it rings a bell in his memory. "..It's you, Soekawa-san," Eita says, after an uncertain second of pause. "Why are you here?" He doesn't remember the last time he saw Soekawa Jin. All he remembers is that he used to train with Soekawa when he just joined the Academy, but one day Soekawa just kind of...disappeared. He still appeared at matches though, so Eita supposed he must have still been somewhere in the Academy. Eita was never one to analyse and think through all the details of every minor event, unlike Kawanishi, or maybe Shirabu.

Soekawa takes the (delayed) acknowledgement pleasantly, as if it were a greeting. "It's nice to see you. I'm actually a summoner at the Academy now." Soekawa volunteers, even though Eita has evidently not bothered to answer his question. He gestures towards a corridor nearby. Eita was expecting some sort of forced sympathy, since that was what he'd got from pedestrians all morning while getting to the Academy, but he's glad Soekawa doesn't seem to be breaching that topic at all. Belatedly, Eita realises that perhaps Soekawa had also faced the same situation that he was in, but he seems to have taken it in stride.

Eita's expression must have morphed into some form of confusion, while Soekawa seems to take as a cue to continue. "Oh! You must be wondering why you haven't seen me around. Well, I'm actually one of Ushijima's summoners now, but I lack the flair for the major battles, so I mainly do background analysis and strategy." He finishes, a little sheepishly. Eita thinks back to his own group of summoners. They were all brilliant strategists, relaying information and thinking up tactics on the spot in the midst of battle, but their forte definitely wasn't magic. "But you've got powers!" Eita blurts, and immediately curses himself mentally for that blunder. 

Soekawa merely chuckles. Few things ever get on his nerves, Eita thinks. "Champions aren't the only ones who can invoke their powers. I still use some of my powers when I participate in matches, but they've got to be approved, and there's a limit on the number of abilities I can use. Mostly I use them to augment the Champion. They're especially useful in a team fight, when Shirabu can't support everyone at once." At this, he gives Eita a significant look. "You seemed to prefer using your moves for offense when support wasn't needed, but..."

"You were watching?" Eita doesn't hide his surprise. He'd loved to use his powers in one-on-one fights, even when he was supposed to be supporting Ushijima. Ushijima had not minced his words when he'd stated, "I'm the carry, not you. Don't waste your efforts trying to take the opponents down by yourself." Eita had seethed upon hearing that. Who was to tell him what he should do and what he shouldn't?

Admittedly, there were times when he'd overused his powers and had been unable to help Ushijima later on, but his plans were good, most of the time. They had got along like that in most of the matches and yet, they _still won_. Until Shirabu came along, perfectly content with fading into the background and devoting all his powers to supporting Ushijima. He never argued with Ushijima about strategy, even if he disagreed. And Eita lost his spot, just like that. 

"Well, you were the support, so you were in the same lane as Ushijima most of the time. I know Ushijima didn't really...appreciate your playing style." Eita snorts. An understatement, if he ever heard one. "But you know, you'd be good as a summoner. Your abilities are adaptable for off-field play, and you've got the strategic mind we need."

It had been someone else, Eita would have thought they were belittling his abilities. Maybe it's the way Soekawa says it. It's reassuring in its' frankness, unlike Ushijima, which got on his nerves more often than not. 

"I know you'll need some time to think about it, but if you're free now, I can show you where the summoners train. I mean, you've probably been there before, to discuss with your summoners, but we do other things, and they're quite cool too." Soekawa offers.

Eita would have been bored for the rest of the day, and he _was_ trying to put off looking for a new job, so he nods, and Soekawa smiles (It's like he had this planned all along, Eita thinks later. The Academy would never have let the public be privy to summoner training sessions, unlike those of the champions). 

* * *

The first meeting with the summoners turns out to be a success. The other summoners are all politely welcoming to Eita, which he hadn't expected. Eita ends up having to eat his words, because they aren't lacking in magical abilities, not in the least. During the session, he'd witnessed magical ability that echoed the sheer power of the Shiratorizawa Academy Champions. He'd told Soekawa this, a little contrite, but Soekawa didn't seem to have minded. "Some of them only specialise in one power, so they lack the diversity that most champions have." At Eita's disbelieving look, he'd merely said, "Ushijima actually has quite a broad skillset, to be honest. And there are those who like the birds-eye view of the arena, and the big-picture view of the match it gives them. And the reduced risk of injury, that's definitely a bonus." 

Eita returns home in a much better mood than when he had left for the Academy. In his unusually buoyant mood, he decides to continue summoner training, at least until something better pops up. It is only when he notices the bag that Tendou left for him, with the uniform gleaming accusingly at him, that he thinks of Tendou again. Perhaps his mind had tried to repress it, didn't want him to face the situation. _Also, you're still angry with Tendo_ u, his brain reminds him helpfully. "But I'm not." Eita finds himself saying aloud.  _Yet_ , _i_ _t's not like you know what to do about this, so inaction's still the best course of action._ A rebuttal that Eita couldn't refute. Eita grabs the bag and stashes it into the bottom of a drawer.

He falls into a restless slumber, and wakes up feeling exhausted, but nowhere near as tired as he was the previous day. 

The next few days pass in a blur of activity, as Eita throws himself into summoner training even harder than he used to do as a Champion. Apart from meetings with the other summoners (they've been rotating him through different summoner teams, and he's participated in discussions about all his teammates by the time the week ends), the summoners also spend a portion of their time working on their magic. He's begun training on his speed again, regaining use of the powers he thought he wouldn't want to use again. The more he works, the more he realises he's doing better than he used to. He chalks it down to the lack of pressure - here, he doesn't have to cater to Ushijima's style, doesn't have to bow his head and conserve his powers. Occasionally, he stays so late, racing through his practice reps even as the sunlight fades from the windows of the summoners' gym, that the others jest that he's becoming the summoner's version of Oikawa Tooru.

He hasn't seen his teammates the whole week, and he's all but shoved the issue with Tendou to the back of his mind. But he doesn't feign his surprise the next Monday, when he yawns his way into the Academy, and hears a distinctively hopeful voice shout from behind him. "Semi!"

Eita's still running through the plays in his head, having spent his whole afternoon convincing himself to watch the Shiratorizawa-Aobajousai match, because _he should be over this by now, there's no point crying over spilled milk_ , followed by spending his whole evening curled in front of his laptop, chewing on store-bought onigiri. He'd watched both that match and the Karasuno-Datekou match, the latter being particularly intriguing. There's been talk going around that Datekou's wall formations are becoming even stronger, and Eita can see why. As Datekou's Champions scramble for objectives, taking down the towers on field while conjuring blocks to impede Karasuno's progress, the summoners hovering off-field are continually in conversation. Datekou's summoners are led by a cheerful looking girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail. She appears to prefer a hands-off approach, laughing even when her team makes occasional blunders. Yet, she's the one who directs the attack, rattling off directions for their captain (who looks entirely uncertain about it, even if he does do a fine job, which proves it definitely isn't the first time this has happened) when Datekou ambush and completely block out Karasuno's advance. Still heavily in awe, Eita turns around without a second thought and freezes, when he sees Tendou.

Tendou looks unexpectedly happy, for some reason Eita can't pin, until he says, "You're back!" Eita doesn't really know what to say to that, because he's indeed back, but it's not what Tendou thinks it is. He awkwardly swipes a hand through his hair, thinking of an excuse that's convincing enough. "Uhh, well, I'm just here because I'm looking for Washijou-sensei. Yeah, never actually bothered to say anything to him last time, and that was irresponsible of me," He trails off, realising that he also hasn't bothered to find Tendou and somehow, some part of Eita's brain just doesn't want him telling Tendou that he's training as a summoner. 

Luckily for him, Tendou doesn't question the flimsy excuse. Maybe he hasn't noticed. His face seems to crumple a little, but he soldiers on. "um, well, Semi, you know, about last time, it was my fault. I didn't think about how you would perceive it."

He's avoiding mentioning anything specific, but then again, Tendou has never been good at talking about his feelings. They both aren't. He's probably rehearsed this conversation verbally and mentally. Eita feels a smile creep onto his face, unexpectedly. "Yeah, let's move on. Shake on it?"

It's as close to a _sorry, I'm a stubborn mule_ as he's ever going to say. But Tendou's face brightens as well, and he says, much more chirpily, "No, Eita, we've got to pinky swear, that's what we've always done!" He raises his hand and wiggles his pinky finger at Eita, and _oh_ , how Eita has missed this.

It is kind of weird, two tall boys hooking their pinky finger together and grinning, all while standing right in the middle of the road, but that's them. Tendou breaks the silence first, again, as he always has. "Okay, since we've pinky-sweared on it, see you at the Karasuno-Aobajousai match! Don't wear something lame!" And he's off, rushing to the training room.

"Wait, you didn't tell me that was part of the deal!"  Eita hollers after him, but it's in jest. He hadn't expected the situation to be so easily resolved, but Tendou has always been more forgiving than he was. His phone chimes from his pocket. He hadn't properly texted Tendou since the fallout, but the ringtone was Tendou's doing, something Tendou had done one boring day. He hadn't bothered to change it since then, in fact, would admit that he quite like it.

  
**Tendou Satori:** Should've asked you properly. Go to the Karasuno-Aobajousai match with me?

He grins. It's there, in writing. His fingers hover over the keys before settling.

**Semi Eita:** Sure. With you.

 

As he heads to the summoners training grounds, he knows with certainty which summoner team he wants to join. There wouldn't be any other choice.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have more time to mull over this. As soon as he enters the training room, Soekawa waves him over. "Semi! I'm sorry for this last minute notice, but Coach Washijou came in earlier and he wants a chat with you."

Eita swallows. "A chat?"

Soekawa looks a little uncertain too. He isn't good at dealing with senior figures, much less Coach Washijou, who's undoubtedly the most intimidating coach of all the Champion teams. "Well, he wants you to go to his office as soon as you arrive."

Eita nods. "Okay, thanks for telling me." He seems to be on a roll today. _Best to get it over with._ Steeling his nerves, Eita leaves, trying to look as unaffected as possible.

* * *

 

The coach's office is sparse, with only simple furniture. A hologram model of the battlefield sits in the corner, undoubtedly for the coach to model replays and study attacks of the Champions. Eita stares around curiously, but then Coach Washijou coughs. Eita snaps back to attention. 

"I've made it clear from the first day you joined us that Ushijima was the attacking force of our team, and you were supposed to aid him in reaching his power spike. Instead, time and time again you disabled the enemy team, despite being told not to." 

Coach Washijou's words seem distant, like something long overdue. We still won though, are the words on the edge of Eita's tongue, but he holds it in. 

"Soekawa-kun tells me that you've decided to join the summoners. Despite your unacceptable behaviour, not reporting for training even though no one said you could leave, I suppose your performance as a summoner is satisfactory. " We should have let you try that long ago, goes unsaid. "You've been in the Academy for three years, you should know by now how we operate. I'm giving you the next match to prove that you deserve to be part of the team."

Eita stares Coach Washijou in the eye. "I won't let the team down."

* * *

 It seems all too soon that it is the date of the Karasuno-Aobajousai match. Eita's agreed to meet Tendou at the train station, but he lost track of time in his new fervor to study matches, and really, that's been happening a lot now that Eita's got a new plan that he's determined to stick to. He only notices the time when he opens a new tab to search for old videos of Oikawa Tooru's magic style and slams his laptop shut in sudden panic. 

"Shit, it's four already?" Eita hurriedly changes to the first clothes he pulls out of his closet, and he doesn't think it looks too bad when he catches his reflection in the lift mirror on the way down, trying to wear his sneakers properly. It's a simple pullover and jeans. He particularly likes those jeans, which is probably why they're on the top of his clothes pile, since he wears them so frequently. His phone chimes as he dashes for the train station. It's a good thing he's over his vendetta against his powers, because they're really handy in moments like these.

He manages to unlock it and decipher Tendou's message, which is typed entirely in emoji. If Eita's guessing is correct (which it probably is, since he's been receiving similar messages ever since Tendou decided it was fun to compose messages from the recently released set of emoticons), it's just a simple "where are you?", but Tendou has decided to embellish it with custom stickers of his facial expressions. It seems redundant, since Tendou could probably figure it out himself, if he was really bored and wanted to. So, Eita sends him a blurry photo of the view.

He reaches the station in record time, and spies Tendou's spiky red hair and lanky figure at the gantries. Despite how proud Eita is of his ability to throw together a coordinated outfit without having to think about it, Tendou apparently thinks otherwise. 

"Eita-chan!! Please don't tell me you're wearing that because it was the first thing you saw in your closet," Tendou says, exaggerating a grimace, as they board the train.

"As a matter of fact, it was."

"Eita, why don't you have any cooler clothes?" Tendou whines, before his expression morphs to one of sheer glee. "Ah, next time we can go shopping together!"

"Me, buy the kind of stuff you wear?" Eita gestures to Tendou, aiming for gently mocking, but he privately thinks that Tendou does look quite good, certainly since he hadn't been wearing something that was decided on in a moment's notice.

"Yeah, don't I look good?" Tendou preens a little, getting wary looks from the passers-by near him. Judging from some of their looks, Eita suspects they didn't expect the Guess Monster to be just as slightly unhinged in public as he is in matches. Tendou has never cared about this sort of thing, after all. It's what gains him all his admirers (Eita would, secretly, be part of that group) and also all his critics.

It's easy to lapse into a relaxed, simple, back-and-forth banter from there, now that Eita isn't so tense about Champions and the League and everything in between, and Tendou's no longer bringing up the issue.

The match is an exciting one, with Champions of both teams not giving in to their opponents easily, even though it's just a friendly match. Eita and Tendou decide to make bets on who will win, and spend their time observing the Champions and pointing out to each other when their chosen team does a particularly good play. Eita's also secretly watching the summoners, although he's planning to keep his summoner training a secret from Tendou. 

In the end, Karasuno takes the win. Tendou, who had bet on them, throws his ice-cream up in the air in his excitement. Eita immediately reaches for it, hand shooting out and grabbing the cone unnaturally fast, as it spirals uncertainly in flight.

He hands the cone back to Tendou, only to find that Tendou's watching him with a grin. Tendou seems extraordinarily happy, for reasons Eita really cannot figure out. 

"What?" Eita demands. "Did I get your ice-cream on my face?"

"No, but it's so nice to have Eita-chan being so knightly!" Tendou says nonchalantly. 

Eita huffs a laugh and motions for them to leave. Tendou crams the cone in his mouth, crunching it with delight, as some of the chocolate dribbles from the edges of his mouth. It's his fourth ice-cream of the match, and Eita has long given up lecturing Tendou about _how unhealthy this is_. Still, Eita's staring. It's adorable.

As they exit the stands, a boy with a bowl-cut rushes up to them, his eyes shining bright in excitement. He gives them a deep bow, which Eita and Tendou return amusedly. "I'm Goshiki Tsutomu!" he chirps, "Are you Tendou-san and Semi-san??? It's so amazing to see both of you here!"  He thrusts something towards them, which Eita peers at. It's an autograph book, with pages neatly labelled for the owner to fill in the date and other relevant details. 

Tendou takes the book and signs it with a flourish, before passing it to Eita. "You have cool hair! xxGuess Monster Tendou" Eita reads, smiling wryly. It puzzles him, how the kid seems to be so knowledgeable about them. Most people only remember Ushijima. As if on cue, Goshiki asks, "By the way, did Ushijima-san come with you? You were his support, right?" The last question he directs to Eita, all while bouncing up and down on his toes, as if trying to see behind him. Not that he'd have needed to try, Ushijima overshadows them all.

Tendou's hand is suddenly a warm presence around Eita's wrist. It isn't an unpleasant feeling, Eita thinks. "Wakatoshi-kun isn't here," Tendou starts, more measured than usual, but Goshiki only seems slightly disappointed.

"It's okay! I'm going to try out for the Shiratorizawa Champion Team when the season opens! I'm aiming to be better than Ushijima-san!" Eita raises his eyebrow, but Goshiki is unaffected. Eita doubts he's even noticed, and takes the chance to close the autograph book and hand it back.

Goshiki's eyes are shining. Eita hopes Goshiki also hasn't noticed that he didn't write in it. "I look forward to learning from you!" He finishes with a bow, and rushes away. 

"One. Why is he so loud? Two. Who in his right mind even declares that they're going to beat Ushijima when they're not even in the Academy?" Eita hisses to Tendou as soon as Goshiki is out of earshot.

"I bet you can be just as loud, Eita~" Tendou croons, and Eita reflexively slaps his arm with his free hand. "Maybe he's really that good. The next season, eh? Wonder what cool tricks he's got up his sleeve, maybe they're as cool as his haircut. Can't be cooler than yours, though." Tendou muses. 

"Tendou, his haircut's just a bowlcut. How is that cool?" Eita retorts, and they banter all the way out of the stadium. Neither of them notice, though, that Tendou's hand is still curled around Eita's wrist as they walk. 

* * *

 

Eita is nervous. At least, he's trying to convince himself he isn't, but there's that small voice in his head that goads him when he's angry and is now taking much joy in tormenting him from the inside. He paces up and down the summoner platform, wrapped in his thoughts. 

He slaps himself mentally, then his cheeks for good measure. The announcer's voice blares over the stadium, the field, and the underground pods, where the summoners are aiting. They introduce the Champions, and then Eita's stepping into the pod, anticipating the rush of wind as the pod shoots upwards onto the field, the countdown starts, and Eita's been waiting for this,

"Good luck, Guess Monster."

"Hmm??? Eita-chan!!!" Tendou almost shouts, and then he's craning his head, searching for the aerial pod Eita's in. Tendou gives Eita a joyous wave, bouncing in a way that almost echoes that kid they saw at the Karasuno-Aobajousai match. The others turn to look at Tendou before they catch on. Ushijima's stoic in his nod, while Shirabu looks almost irritated, as if he thinks Eita's going to lecture him as well during the match. Kawanishi's face is perfectly neutral, but even if he had some expression on, it would probably be so minute that Eita wouldn't be able to figure it out from the height the pod's at. Yamagata shoots him a thumbs up, and Oohira smiles encouragingly.

"What a delightful surprise, Eita!!! Were you trying to surprise me??? You were!" Tendou questions rhetorically, his voice crackling through Eita's headphones. "Rapidash 1, Guess Monster 0!!" Eita thinks about correcting him, but decides it's not worth the trouble and tunes back in to Tendou's words, "...be my summoner?" 

"It's just a trial. " Eita explains, "There's a lot hanging on this match, but I hope so."

"Oh, but you will!" Tendou's voice is breezy, yet Eita can sense the determination. "I'm not the Guess Monster for nothing!"

* * *

They win the match. 

Later, when they're heading out of the stadium, Eita turns to look for Tendou, still euphoric. 

Tendou looks especially radiant now, limbs freer and movements even more unfettered. He's still using his powers, disappearing and reappearing in front and behind the group of summoners and Champions alike, but not straying far from Eita. Eita slows his pace, falling behind the group, right where Tendou is bouncing around.

He thinks he knows what to say. Eita clears his throat and grabs Tendou's wrist, half to steady himself (which isn't really working), and half to prevent Tendou from disappearing again. "Hey, Tendou." and suddenly his throat is dry, and Tendou stops, his muscles tensed. Eita's mind is suddenly blank, and so he blurts, "Satori. I think I really like you."

Tendou relaxes, and grins, the smile blinding. "This one, I guessed! But it wouldn't be fair, to you." Tendou says, uncharacteristically serious. He shakes his wrist from Eita's grip and slides their fingers together, leans in like it's the most natural thing in the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking till the end! It's been wild. (okay I'm very tame [weird word choice, i know, reminds me of kyoutani] so everything is wild to me haha) I think I listened to Jay Chou and Lauren Aquilina on loop while writing this, and I hope it didn't show too much because it's not-that-sad a story...
> 
> A few things:  
> 1\. You'll probably ask, "The actual issue was never talked about!" or "Why was it resolved so easily?" - firstly, because timing, secondly, i'll confess that I modeled some of Semi's reactions and behaviour after personal experiences (perhaps I kind of projected onto Semi), and thirdly, because it /is/ still an issue (this, also modeled from personal experience)  
> 2\. What's Semi's Champion name and what are his exact powers? It's not Rapidash, haha, that's just something Tendou coined - you know, fiery mane, very speedy? I have a few ideas for his Champion name that I'm partial to, but I'll leave it for your interpretation. As for his powers, he's a speed and mobility based champion. In his summoner role, he adapts one of his former spells, which is transferring that speed to the champions when necessary to alter terrain, because his speed comes from manipulating currents. 
> 
> Also! I wrote a section on Shirabu's powers, based a little on Leblanc, a little on Diana (both from League), a little of others. Mainly his kit is a lot more suited to support Ushijima's burst damage style of attack, compared to Semi's kit of abilities, but that definitely doesn't stop Semi from reviewing more matches and giving him tips (as he does in canon)
> 
> Passive: Every fourth spell Kenjirou casts blinds its opponent for X seconds  
> Q: Illusion - Kenjirou selects a team member and casts a vision in a target direction. The team member is rendered momentarily invisible and reappears after 0.5secs with a clone that lasts for 3 seconds that can also take damage and be healed. Kenjirou controls the clone.  
> W: Barrier - toggle on/off - Kenjirou disappears upon casting a beam of light on a target. The target is shielded for X seconds or for Y damage, depending on which lasts longer.  
> E: Blend - Kenjirou's basic attack blends into the surroundings, producing a wide beam that slows and distorts the vision of all enemies caught in the beam  
> R: Overheat - Kenjirou glows with a white light. This channeling lasts for 3 seconds. At the end of the channeling, all allies in X radius gain Y health and all enemies are rooted for Z seconds.


End file.
